asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has received any report from the Flax Instructor in County Cork as to the approximate quantity of flax seed required for sowing in Cork County this season; whether he has got any report from this Instructor on the retting experiments carried out last year, and if it is intended to have such experiments carried on again this season.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - FLAX GROWING IN CO. CORK.
The Flax Instructor stationed in West Cork district is still prosecuting his inquiries as to the quantity of seed required by growers this season in that district. He has already reported to the Department that 200 bags of "Riga" and "Pernau Crown" seed have been ordered by local merchants, and that he has advised local merchants that his information goes to show that a further quantity will be required this season. This Instructor, in common with other Flax Instructors, has been furnished by the Department (for communication to local seed retailers) with information as to supplies of seed and the quality thereof from the producing countries, namely, Holland, the Baltic States and Canada.
Valuations, based on hackling trials of representative samples of scutched flax resulting from the retting experiments conducted last season in West Cork, were recently furnished to the Department, and a report on the experiment is in course of preparation. The question of carrying out a similar experiment this season is at present under consideration.